Today, at the sixth anniversary of disappearance of the pro-Ukrainian activist Timur Shaimardanov in the occupied Crimea, we want to tell you a story of his family, which after the terrible event faced new challenges. What’s the fate of Timur’s spouse and son? What reminiscences do his relatives have? What hopes does the family of the missing activist have? You may read about it in the material of the Crimean Tatar Resource Center, which was prepared in the frame of the project “Hostages of the Occupation”.
On May 26, 2014, Timur Shaimardanov, a member of the Ukrainian People’s House initiative, disappeared in the occupied Crimea. The place and circumstances of his disappearance remains unknown as there is no witnesses. In the spring of that year, he was one of the active opponents of the Russian occupation of the peninsula. He participated in pro-Ukrainian protests, volunteered and assisted the Ukrainian military. Before disappearing, the man noticed that he has been surveilled. He was changing his place of residency regularly. In the last apartment, the landlord has found a wiretap. Human rights activists are convinced that Timur was forcibly abducted because of his pro-Ukrainian stance on the occupied peninsula.
"The first months, I was sure we would find him one way or another. But later on…”, Olga Shaimardanova abrupts, “…but it is important for us to know what happened and who is to blame”.
After those terrible events, Timur's wife and son left Crimea, it was too dangerous for them to stay. They currently reside in Lviv. Mark Shaimardanov has his dad's eyes. His voice is full of sorrow when he talks about his father’s disappearance.
"I remember my father as a Ukrainian activist. He always came up with unconventional solutions, he knew how to communicate with people. We used to go hiking, often walked together… Only good memories left…”, – Mark Shaimardanov shares.
The boy remembers the day of his father's disappearance very clearly – that day his dad was supposed to pick him up from school, but Mark was never able to reach out his dad …
Olga says that all these events made Mark more mature.
Shaimardanov’s family got used to their life in Lviv. Mark goes to one of the local schools, plays cello, learns Polish and is interested in computer games, and Olga works for an import company.
Does Timur's family believe he is alive? For sure. And they are excited about the day when they can hug him.
Project manager: Zarema Bariieva
Author of pictures: Elvir Sagirman
Text writer: Elvir Sagirman
Translation into English: Zarema Bariieva
We remind that on February 26 in Kyiv, the presentation of the album and the exhibition “Hostages of the Occupation” took place, which tell us about the fate of 20 Crimean Tatar families after the annexation of the peninsula. On March 10, the exhibition opened in Vinnytsia. The exhibition is expected to be presented in Lviv and Dnipro as well.
The project was prepared by the Crimean Tatar Resource Center with the support of the Democracy Grants Program of the US Embassy to Ukraine.